Moment reckless HGV driver is caught on phone with both hands off wheel

This is the moment a careless HGV driver is caught with both hands off the steering wheel on the M5.

Alarming footage shows the man scrolling through his phone while operating the huge vehicle.

He is completely unaware he is being filmed by Gloucestershire Police.

Tapping his phone, he takes both hands off the wheel before putting the device back in its cradle.

The driver is seemingly hit with the realisation he is being watched by the highways team at the end of the clip.

Officers sometimes use an HGV cab to patrol motorways, as its high position allows them to check on lorry drivers.

Posting about the incident on Twitter, police wrote: ‘An HGV driver caught with both hands off the steering wheel whilst using his mobile phone behind the wheel on the M5.

‘Using a handheld phone behind the wheel is illegal and drivers who do so are 4x more likely to be involved in a collision.’

Drivers could face being slammed with six penalty points and a £200 fine if caught using a hand-held phone.

They can get three penalty points if they don’t have a full view of the road and traffic ahead or proper control of the vehicle.

Police can stop motorists if they think they’re not in control due to distraction and they could be prosecuted.

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